India’s unemployment holds at 5% as urban joblessness rises among women

India’s unemployment rate was unchanged in September as higher urban joblessness, driven mainly by women, offset broadly steady conditions in rural areas.

India’s unemployment rate held at 5.0% in September, unchanged from August, as a slight rise in joblessness in cities offset steadier conditions in the countryside, according to data released by the National Statistics Office. The ministry said the figures came from the Periodic Labour Force Survey, which tracks employment and labour participation across the country.

The survey showed rural unemployment at 4.2%, little changed from 4.1% a month earlier, while the urban rate rose to 6.9% from 6.8%. Year on year, the overall unemployment rate was down by 0.2 percentage points, with rural unemployment easing from 4.6% in September 2025, while the urban rate was broadly stable, the ministry said.

Women continued to face a weaker labour market than men. Overall female unemployment stood at 5.2% in September, up slightly from 5.1% in August, while urban female unemployment climbed to 9.2% from 8.9%. Rural female unemployment, by contrast, fell to 3.9%, which the government said was the lowest level seen in 2026. Business Standard and LiveMint both reported that the rise in urban unemployment was driven mainly by women, even as the male jobless rate stayed largely unchanged.

At the same time, more people were either working or looking for work. The labour force participation rate for people aged 15 and above was 55.5% in September, unchanged from August but higher than a year earlier, while the worker population ratio held at 52.7%. Female labour force participation also improved, reaching 34.6%, with urban female participation rising to 25.9%, its highest level since October 2025, according to the ministry. The official release said the monthly estimates were based on a survey of 3,70,513 people.